Danbury mayoral candidates spar at Chamber of Commerce forum

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, October 2, 2007

During an answer to a question from News-Times reporter Dirk Perrefort about city police officers working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Abrantes highlighted the lawsuit filed against the city last week by nine of the so-called "Danbury 11" day laborers arrested in a sting operation in September 2006.

VIDEO: Click here to see Abrantes and Boughton debate

"The allegations made in this case are deeply troubling," Abrantes said. "If th e allegations are true, the mayor lied to us about the city's involvement in this incident."

The lawsuit claimed, among other things, that a city police officer arrested the day laborers in a sting operation and then turned them over to ICE agents. After the arrests, Boughton maintained that the sting was a federal operation.

During his rebuttal, the mayor did not comment on the accusation that he had lied but maintained that "a strategic partnership at any level" between local and federal officials "is beneficial."

"At the end of the day, we have to present whatever resources we can to federal law enforcement officials to do their job," Boughton added.

The two candidates differed early and often about a variety of issues - immigration, development and financial planning to name a few - at Wednesday's debate, hosted by the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce at the Holiday Inn on Newtown Road.

Throughout the event, Boughton appeared to speak more freely and off-the-cuff, while Abrantes seemed hesitant at times to deviate from prepared answers about a number of issues.

Several times, Abrantes criticized what she called "unbridled growth" in the city and said too much development has put stress on a school system running over capacity and added to the city's traffic woes. She also said Boughton's administration has suffered from an "over-reliance" on bonding that will hurt the city's credit rating in the long run.

In response, Boughton said he would appoint a task force of parents and educators to deal with re-districting the school system. He also attacked Abrantes' traffic plan, saying it would require bonding, which she had previously criticized, and added that the city's surplus this year was $24 million, much higher than the $5 million surplus he inherited when taking office.

Asked about "greening" the city, Boughton pointed out his pledge to acquire 1,200 acres of open space by 2012 and the appointment of a task force that will look at "a number of green initiatives."

In response, Abrantes pledged to preserve open space as well, also promising to reduce the city's fleet of vehicles and to make 20 percent of them either hybrid or run on alternative fuels.

The last question put to Boughton and Abrantes, via a member of the audience, asked about illegal immigration in general and about identification cards the city of New Haven recently offered to undocumented immigrants.

"The mayor's rhetoric has done nothing but pit people against people," Abrantes said, adding that the problem with illegal immigration has been caused by "federal inaction."

Saying she doesn't believe the city should act "unconstitutionally," Abrantes maintained that "I believe in the rule of law and I will enforce it."

Boughton responded by saying that John DeStefano, the mayor of New Haven, "violated federal law" by offering IDs to illegal immigrants and added that problems with health care, schools and housing costs are all "stressed" by illegal immigrants.

"We'll work closely with ICE, DEA, Secret Service - anyone who comes calling - to enforce the law," Boughton said.

During her closing statement, Abrantes challenged Boughton to three debates that would be open to the public and held at night or on weekends when more people could attend.

Boughton said Wednesday that he hasn't decided on Abrantes' challenge but said he would try see what will fit in his schedule.

"We'll look at any requests," he said, pointing out that he will attend upcoming candidate forums held by the PTO and volunteer firefighters. "Beyond that, we'll have to look at the dates and see what we can squeeze in."